In a rare crossover between a NE Prep and MIAA team, two powerhouses got together in Brookline for an entertaining game this afternoon. Dexter won the game 3-0, controlling the play most of the way. Vincent Gould, Connor Sutherland and Jonathan Lanza scored for the home team. Alex Mickanin earned the shutout while Ben Zaranek turned away a bunch of Dexter chances in the loss.
The first period ended 0-0 as Dexter started slow and pushed more as play went on. Matt Fusco, Brandon Spaulding, Ryan Leonard, Will Hughes among others had chances as the pace was good and the effort was intense on both sides. PF took a five minute major that was followed by several penalties on both sides, even some 3v3 time. Overall, there was not a lot of flow to the game with a lot of infractions called.
The second period, Dexter broke through 4v4 as Vincent Gould buried a nice pass from Grayson Badger. That came with 12:28 left. Dexter rallied for another goal as Badger again fed the puck and this time Connor Sutherland slid one under Zaranek’s pad to make it 2-0. Finally with 2:55 left, Dexter finished the three goal period off as Jonathan Lanza one timed a rocket home after Matt Copponi forced a turnover.
The third period featured chances on both sides. Our Mr. Mass Hockey NZ 2020 Ryan leonard was a factor and looked dangerous with possession all afternoon. He hit the crossbar late in the third that almost broke up the shutout.
Overall, its was a fun afternoon of hockey. Pope Francis is an excellent team and stayed right with a Top 5 NE Prep squad who has played several games already. We would love to see more of this and applaud both teams for making this happen for their players.
Player evaluations soon on NZ!!
Three Stars
First: Grayson Badger (Dexter)
Second: Ben Zaranek (Pope Francis)
Third: Alex Mickanin (Dexter)
15 player evaluations below.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling Images
